Category Archives: Statistics

The action-packed Canadian Grand Prix saw Jenson Button take his tenth career win. Here are more stats from this weekend:

After breaking the 10,000 miles led barrier in Monaco, McLaren are set to break the 4,000 constructor’s points barrier in Valencia, currently on a total of 3,996.5.

The safety car was deployed 6 times on race day – a new F1 record.

Similarly, the race was the longest in Formula 1 history, at 4 hours, 4 minutes and 39.537 seconds. The previous record was the 1951 Indy 500, at just under 4 hours.

Sebastian Vettel took his 21st pole position in his career. Only 9 drivers have more, with Michael Schumacher on top with 68.

While Button has now won 3 races with McLaren, all of them have come in wet conditions.

Along with both Lotus, HRT and Virgin drivers, Pastor Maldonado has not finished a single race distance this year.

This race was the first ever that both Red Bulls and Toro Rossos were in the points. It is the first time in more than 2 years that both Toro Rossos have finished in the points.

Vitantonio Liuzzi’s 13th place has given HRT their best ever result. While Lotus got 12th in last year’s Japanese Grand Prix, Virgin have never finished higher than 14th. The result pushes HRT alongside Lotus in the constructor’s championship – the first time they have not been in last place.

The last time the lead of a race changed on the last lap was the 2005 Japanese Grand Prix. However, since Kimi Raikkonen had led that race earlier, the previous record for a race win having only led one lap stretches back to the 2003 Brazilian Grand Prix.

Sebastian Vettel’s second win of the season means he now has 4 wins in a row, including last year’s Brazil and Abu Dhabi successes. Also from the Malaysian Grand Prix:

A 3rd place finish from Nick Heidfeld was the 100th podium position for a Renault driver.

It was also the 13th podium for Heidfeld without a win, beating Stefan Johansson to a certainly unenviable record.

Vettel has led 109 out of the 114 laps so far this season. He also has a 24-point lead in the championship, the largest gap to seconds place since Singapore 2009, when Jenson Button led by 25 points.

Sebastian has never slipped below 4th place in any race so far this year. Compare that to Pastor Maldonado, whose highest position has been 15th at any point.

His 12th career win is as many as Mario Andretti, Alan Jones and Carlos Reutemann. His 17th pole position is the same as Jackie Stewart.

Heidfeld also holds the records for most points without a win, and is behind Andrea de Cesaris in “most races without a win”. Nick has 240 points so far in his career, ahead of second-placed Nico Rosberg with 217.5.

Lewis Hamilton’s 2nd place on the grid means he has started 42.47% of his races on the front row. This puts him ahead of Michael Schumacher, who has 42.44%.

The 2011 Formula 1 season got underway yesterday, which brought the inaugral podium for a Russian driver. More stats and facts from last weekend:

Sebastian Vettel took his 3rd Grand Prix victory in a row, taking into account last year’s Brazilian and Abu Dhabi Grands Prix. If he had won the 2010 Korean race, he would have had 5 wins in a row, which would have earned him joint 4th place in the record books.

Red Bull’s 16th race win means they have as many as Cooper, and one less than BRM. This also means that the team have won 14% of all races they have entered since 2005.

This is the 94th time Jenson Button has finished in the points – exactly as many as Kimi Raikkonen.

This is the 19th Formula 1 season that Rubens Barrichello has started. Graham Hill, the previous record holder, had started 18.

Vettel’s pole position lap of 1.23.529 was the fastest lap ever around the Albert Park circuit.

Felipe Massa’s 13th fastest lap – his first since Monaco 2009 – has given him as many as Jacky Ickx, Alan Jones and Ricardo Patrese.

Sergio Perez would have been the 70th driver in history to score a point in his first race, but that record has been transferred to Paul di Resta after both Saubers were disqualified.

Mark Webber’s torrid form in Australia continues. His highest finish continues to be the 5th place he attained in 2002, when he was driving a Minardi.

Hispania’s drivers have been the first drivers to not qualify for the race since Alex Yoong (Minardi) in Germany 2002.

Lewis Hamilton’s 72nd race means he now holds joint 1st place for “Longest F1 career driving for a single team” with Jim Clark.

Vettel’s 11th win puts him equal with Rubens Barrichello, Felipe Massa and Jacques Villeneuve. His 16th pole position is as many as Kimi Raikkonen and Stirling Moss.

This race had 5 world champions competing together, which is as many as back in 1970. Back then, Jac Brabham, Denny Hulme, John Surtees, Graham Hill and Jackie Stewart all raced with world titles.

Australia hosts the F1 season opener for the 14th time in 2011.

Pirelli’s last win in F1 was back in 1991 in Canada, when Nelson Piquet won with a Benetton.

With just one more race to go this year, Formula 1 is about to experience something historic, as this is the first time in history that 4 drivers have entered the last race with a chance of becoming World Champion. With this in mind, there are many ways that each of them can take the title.

With this in mind let’s have a look at each driver individually, starting with the underdog:

Lewis Hamilton

2 DNFs in Italy and Singapore have killed Hamilton’s title challenge, and he comes to Abu Dhabi with an extremely low chance of becoming champion. At the moment, he is 24 points adrift of Fernando Alonso.

His task is simple but very difficult: Take the win while Vettel, Alonso and Webber all finish out of the points. While the McLaren isn’t bad at Abu Dhabi, the likelihood of the other 3 drivers being taken out are slim to say the least.

My prediction: As likely as Nick Heidfeld shaving his beard.

Sebastian Vettel

The first of the Red Bull drivers is in with a better chance than Hamilton, but like the McLaren driver, will need a good performance and a stroke of bad luck to hit Webber and Alonso.

Although he is 15 points behind, a 3rd place (with Alonso scoring no points) will not be enough for Vettel, as Fernando has taken 5 wins already, more than any other driver this year. If Vettel finishes 2nd, he will need Alonso to finish 9th or lower, with Webber 5th or lower.

If Sebastian take the win, which is likely is he is on form, the Ferrari needs to be 6th or lower, while Webber will be knocked out automatically, seeing as even if he was 2nd and level on points, Sebastian would have taken one more win.

While the odds are against this Red Bull, the title is certainly not out of reach, though it will take some luck to push Alonso down the order.

My prediction: If he doesn’t win it, he will at least get very close.

Mark Webber

This Red Bull driver is within better striking range of the Ferrari, although Mark’s title hopes were hit slightly by failing to overtake his team-mate in Brazil. Nevertheless, Webber is in with a good shot.

If none of his rivals scored a point (although Hamilton can still win the race in this situation) Mark only needs 5th to take the title. If he gets 4th place, Alonso will need to be 9th or lower, with Vettel not taking the win. If he is in 3rd position, Alonso can be 7th or lower, and Vettel not to take the win.

If Webber takes 2nd place, Fernando has to be 6th or lower, while Sebastian again cannot take the race win (effectively 3rd or lower). Meanwhile, if Mark wins the race, Vettel is taken out no matter where he finishes, while Fernando would have to be 3rd or lower in order for Webber to take the title.

There are many more possibilities as you can see, and it demonstrates why Webber needs to be pushing as hard as he can coming into this final race.

My prediction: A good chance, although he may find trouble keeping Vettel (and Alonso) behind him.

Fernando Alonso

Fernando comes into this race with the title lead, and 8 points to spare against his rivals. He may have the point margin, but his Ferrari will probably be slower than the Red Bull this weekend, so he needs to be very careful.

If he takes either the win or 2nd place, then the championship is his, no questions asked. However, seeing as the Red Bulls are probably going to be on form in Abu Dhabi, this is unlikely, so now the fun begins. If he takes 3rd place, Webber would need to take the race win, and Sebastian Vettel would be knocked out.

If he is 4th, Webber will again need to take the win, and Vettel would still be out of the running.

However, if the Ferrari is 5th, Webber yet again needs to win, and the same goes for Vettel. However, you might notice a small problem there. If Vettel were to win, and Alonso was 5th, then they would be equal on points. FIA rules regulate that the winner would be the driver with the most 2nd place finishes, and both Alonso and Vettel have the same amount. The rule would then move to 3rd place finishes, and -surprise surprise – they have the same amount again! However, Sebastian has two 4th places to Fernando’s one, so this would most certainly be an interesting end to the championship to say the least.

If Alonso is 6th, Webber will need 2nd place, and Vettel would need to win the race. If Fernando was 7th, Mark would have to be on the podium, and Sebastian again requiring the race victory. The exact same requirements for the Red Bulls are needed if the Ferrari is 8th.

In the event of Alonso being 9th, Webber needs 4th, and Vettel needs 2nd or 1st. If Fernando is 10th, Mark would need 5th or higher, and Vettel again requires 1st or 2nd.

In the unlikely event of the Ferrari not taking any points at all, or retiring, Mark Webber would need 5th or higher, and Sebastian Vettel once again has to take 1st or 2nd. If Alonso was not to score, with Vettel 3rd and Webber 6th, then all 3 would be tied on points, but Alonso would take the title because of the “most wins” tiebreaker rule.

My prediction: Best mathematical chance, but needs to watch his back.

Round-up

As you can see, with a 4-way battle for the first time ever, the amount of mathematical possibilities are greater than ever before. With all of these chances of winning the title, we are in for an epic showdown in Abu Dhabi in just a few days time!

The 2010 Brazilian Grand Prix saw the newest addition to the pole position club, as well as a return to form for Williams. Here are the stats and facts from Interlagos:

Red Bull are the first constructor outside of Italy, France or Britain to take the constructor's title

First things first, Nico Hulkenberg became Formula 1’s 94th driver to take pole position (103rd if you include the Indy 500). He is also the 6th youngest person to do so.

Red Bull took their first ever constructor’s championship, and they are the first team outside of the Big Three (Italy, France, Britain) to do this. It was also their 14th win.

Sebastian Vettel took his 9th career victory, as many as Jenson Button. It was the 21st time he has started from the front row in 61 race starts, a 34.42% rate.

Williams took their first pole position since Nick Heidfeld back in 2005, although it was still their 126th.

Lewis Hamilton got the fastest lap, and with 6 he has as many as title rivals Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber.

The last time a Cosworth engine took pole was with Rubens Barrichello at France in 1999. Not since the 1983 Brazilian GP though has a Williams – Cosworth taken pole.

This may not seem like an odd achievement, but it is the first time since 1963 that the constructor’s title has been won by two different teams 2 years in a row.

Red Bull now have 8 1-2 finishes, as many as Tyrrell, Lotus, and Brabham.

Once again, the leader of the driver’s championship failed to win the race, continuing the record from the 2009 Turkish GP.

The all-time record for most classified finishes in one race was levelled yesterday, as 22 cars were classified. This equals the record from the the 1952 British Grand Prix (though drivers didn’t need to get within 90% of race distance to be classified back then. If the 90% rule was to be implemented into that race, then the 2010 Brazilian Grand Prix would be a record breaker in that respect.)

This is the first time in Formula 1 history that 4 drivers have entered the final race with a chance of becoming champion.

The front row of the grid was the youngest ever, with an average age of 23 years and 104 days.

The last 2 Brazilian Grands Prix have seen the polesitter fall to 8th in the race.

The Korean Grand Prix was a fantastic race to watch, although the suspension of the start resulted in it being the longest Formula 1 race since 1960. Read on for more Korean GP stats and facts:

Fernando Alonso took his 26th Grand Prix victory this weekend, 1 more than Jim Clark and 1 less than Jackie Stewart. It was also his 18th fastest lap (and his 5th of 2010), putting him equal with David Coulthard. He took his 62nd podium, as many as Coulthard and Kimi Raikkonen.

Amazingly, the Korean GP continues the 2010 tradition of not a single win from a driver which was leading the championship at that time. The last time the championship leader won a race was Jenson Button in Turkey in 2009.

Sebastian Vettel took his 14th pole position, and the 9th of the season. He now has the same amount as Rubens Barrichello, James Hunt, Ronnie Peterson and Alberto Ascari.

On the other hand, it is the 7th time this season he has failed to win from pole position, and the 11th in total for Red Bull (out of only 17 races). If one Red Bull driver took pole position and the other won, this figure is reduced to 8.

Out of the top 4 teams, Red Bull has become the first to have a double retirement this year.

This was Ferrari’s 810th race entry, and their 215th race win. Massa’s and Alonso’s podiums mean their podium total is 470.

Michael Schumacher’s 4th position was the best of the year so far, and the 201st time he has finished in the points.

Unbelievably, last Sunday was exactly 7,000 days since he made his F1 debut in Spa in 1991.

Here’s an odd one – Some of Fernando Alonso’s career statistics now perfectly match up with Kimi Raikkonen’s: 157 race appearances, 155 race starts, resulting in 62 podiums.

Jenson Button’s 12th place is his worst race finish since Brazil 2008.

With Red Bull’s double retirement, only McLaren have scored points in every race this year.

However, the Indy 500 of 1960 was not run to F1 regulations, so to find an official F1 race longer than last week’s one, you would have to go back to the 1960 Monaco GP, which took 2 hours, 53 mins, 45.5 seconds.

If you can spot any other interesting stats, let me know in the comments.

Fernando Alonso scored his second hat-trick result at Monza in 4 years, while scoring the team’s first pole position in nearly 2 years. Here are the stats and facts from the Italian Grand Prix:

This is Fernando Alonso’s 24th race win of his career. He now has as many as Juan Manuel Fangio, one more than Nelson Piquet, and one less than Niki Lauda and Jim Clark.

He now has 19 pole positions, 1 more than Lewis Hamilton, Mario Andretti and Rene Arnoux, and one less than Damon Hill.

This was Ferrari’s 213th race win. However, it was their first pole position since Brazil 2008, when Felipe Massa was in the front spot.

Fernando Alonso has now led at least 1 lap of 58 different races, which is as many as Nelson Piquet, 3 more than Kimi Raikkonen and Nigel Mansell, but 4 less than David Coulthard.

Also, it was his second hat-trick (pole, win, and fastest lap) at Monza since 2007. He has 4 in total, as many as Felipe Massa, Jacky Ickx, Stirling Moss and Jackie Stewart.

He also got his 16th fastest lap, 1 less than Rubens Barrichello.

The last time that a Ferrari driver scored pole position in his first appearance for the team at Monza was back in 1974, with Niki Lauda. However, it is the first time in Formula 1 history that a Ferrari driver, in his first appearance at Monza for Ferrari, has scored both the pole position and the win.

This was the first time since the 2009 Italian GP that a Red Bull was not on the front row. Also, 6th place was Sebastian Vettel’s worst qualifying performance so far this year.

This is the 20th race in a row that Red Bull have scored points, a record which has been going on since the 2009 European Grand Prix.

This was Jenson Button’s first front-row start for McLaren.

Bruno Senna had his 8th retirement of the year, 1 more than Pedro de la Rosa. 7 of these have been mechanical, another record for this season.

This was the 12th time in 13 races that Red Bull have taken a pole position, but the 6th time this season that they have lost a race win from pole.

Also, this was the first time this year that a Red Bull car was classified outside of the points.

This was the first time in 2010 that a Ferrari retired from the race. Having said that, the Ferraris still lead the “laps completed” section, with Massa in the lead with 780 laps, and Alonso second with 772. No other driver has come close to this.

Jaime Alguersuari got his career best 11th place position qualification, while Michael Schumacher’s 21st place grid spot was the second-worst in his career.

Lewis Hamilton has turned every single one of his front-row starts this year to victories.

Robert Kubica’s 3rd podium finishes this year means he has as many as Nico Rosberg and Felipe Massa.

Bruno Senna’s 7th retirement of the season means he is level at the top with Pedro de la Rosa. Having said that, Hispania’s 18th and 19th position grid spots were the best of the season.

The Hungarian Grand Prix was Red Bull’s 100th Formula 1 start, and they celebrated it well with a pole position, race win, and taking the lead in both championships. Here are some more stats and facts from the Hungarian Grand Prix:

This was the 6th time this year that Red Bull have had a front row lockout in qualifying, but they have only turned one of these lockouts into a 1-2 finish, at Malaysia.

With Vitaly Petrov out-qualifying Robert Kubica, no driver has out-qualified their team-mate in every race now.

This was Sebastian Vettel’s 4th pole position in a row, and the 7th this season. He now has 12 overall, as many as Gerhard Berger and David Coulthard.

This was Mark Webber’s 6th career victory, putting him level with many drivers such as Ralf Schumacher, Ricardo Patrese, Gilles Villeneuve, and Jochen Rindt. He has only 1 less than Sebastian Vettel.